Penis invalidating cicatricial outcomes in an enlargement phalloplasty case with polyacrylamide gel (Formacryl).

The present article reports the case of a patient subjected to polyacrylamide polymers-composed gel cutaneous infiltration in the penis for cosmetic purposes, resulting in severe invalidating outcomes. A significant tissue reaction to the subcutaneous injection of polyacrylamide gel for the penis enlargement purpose resulted in permanent and invalidating scars both on the esthetic and functional levels. Such a result must be simply taken into account both singly and in the light of the international literature to exclude this method as standard uro-andrologic activity.

Microlaparoscopy in sex reassignment surgery.

Sex reassignment (male to female surgery) is a standard operation which is aimed at constructing female genitalia and obtaining a cosmetic and functional result that is similar to that of a normal female subject. The ideal surgical procedure has not yet been described, but the various techniques which have been proposed in the literature are similar. The most cumbersome maneuver of the procedure is that of creating a neovaginal cavity inside the perineum. This step is generally carried out by means of blunt dissection between the rectal wall and the prostate, but most of the surgery is blindly performed without visual control. In these conditions, the risk of rectal injury is high, and may lead to severe intraoperative complications. Microlaparoscopy allows for a direct observation of the perineal dissection from inside the peritoneal cavity, thus avoiding risk of rectal injury. The technique is simple to perform, is non-invasive, and only 15 minutes are added to the operation.

[Infrequent application of intraoperative ultrasonography in urology]. / Applicazioni infrequenti dell'ultrasonografia intraoperatoria in urologia.

Among the usual indications of intraoperative ultrasounds, we describe four infrequent applications that show how useful and powerful this technique could be for interventive urologists. The first case regards a 66 years old male who was affected by a renal metastasis from thoracic cage chondrosarcoma. The use of intraoperative ultrasounds permits to highlight atypical sonographic features of the secondary lesion that were not seen in preoperative radiologic exams and that are completely different from the usual renal lesions. The second case regards the treatment of prostatic abscess performed by echoguided transperineal puncture in which the use of transrectal ultrasound probe permits a precise and correct placement of the needle and the drainage in order to obtain a fast relief of the symptomatology. The third case shows the role of intraoperative ultrasounds in the localization of a parathyroid adenoma in a 52 years old male affected by primary hyperparathyroidism and with recurrent renal colics. In this case the blind surgical exploration of the parathyroid gland and so the possibility of iatrogenic lesions to the recurrent laryngeal nerve were avoided by the use of the intraoperative sonography for the identification of the adenoma. At the same time the operation times were reduced. The last case underlines the importance of using intraoperative ultrasounds in the real-time monitoring for the creation of the neovagina in sex reassignment surgery in male-to-female transexualism in order to avoid a dangerous postoperative complication represented by the iatrogenic lesion of the rectum during the dissection of the perineal region.

[Calcifying giant-cell Sertoli tumor: description of a case with atypical echographic presentation]. / Il tumore a cellule giganti del Sertoli calcificante: descrizione di un caso a presentazione ecografica atipica.

Large cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumor of the testis is an extremely rare type of sex cord tumor with low malignant potential that occurs in the first and second ecades of life. Twenty-eight cases have been reported in the literature and, to our knowledge, only 2 had an aggressive behaviour. Patient age, tumor size, histological malignant patterns such as pleomorphism and high mitotic rate seem to heavy influence the future neoplasm malignancy. Ultrasonography imaging of the large cell calcifying has described in only 6 cases. We report an experience with a large cell calcifying Seroli cell tumor of the testis and point out the unusual sonographic findings. Moreover, if histologic examination suggests no malignant features, we suggest local excision as ideal therapy for the preservation of testicular parenchyma.

[Surgical treatment of unrepairable vesicovaginal fistulas]. / La terapia chirurgica delle fistole vescico-vaginali non riparabili.

The authors discuss different types of urinary diversion as the therapy of unrepairable vesico-vaginal fistulas. They also describe the therapy performed in their experience and underline that, at the moment, rectal bladder is to be considered the best solution.

Focal xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis with associated bone metaplasia.

Focal xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis of the left lower pole was accidentally discovered in a 34-year-old woman at sonography. The patient had no history of stones and urinary tract infection and both conventional radiology and CT scan revealed radiated calcifications within a well-circumscribed mass. Surgical treatment consisted of enucleoresection of the lesion, and histopathology revealed a nucleus of bone metaplasia. To the best of our knowledge, metaplastic bone formation has never been documented before with xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis.

Ureteral obstruction after kidney transplantation secondary to bone metaplasia.

We report a case of ureteral obstruction after kidney transplantation caused by localized bone metaplasia in the donor ureter. Surgical treatment consisted of removal of the involved ureteral segment, which was located 3 cm above the bladder and creation of a spatulated end-to-end anastomosis. Although bone metaplasia has been observed in the ureteral wall of some animal species secondary to experimental ischemia and microtrauma, it is exceedingly rare in humans and has never before been documented after kidney transplantation.

Changes of renal resistive index in response to hydration and diuretic administration in normal subjects and in patients with small ureteral stone.

The renal resistive index has been measured before and after hydration and administration of diuretics in persons with normal kidneys and in kidneys with small ureteral stone, either obstructing or nonobstructing, to assess induced flow changes and to identify features differentiating obstructing from nonobstructing stones. In normal kidneys the resistive index was normal (mean, 0.62+/-0.03); no changes in the resistive index occurred within 15 to 60 min after hydration alone, whereas the resistive index rose within 15 min after hydration plus administration of diuretics and then returned to initial values within 30 min. In both cases the resistive index decreased below basal values after 75 to 90 min. Similar changes were observed in kidneys with a nonobstructing ureteral stone. In kidneys with an obstructing ureteral stone the resistive index was higher than in normal subjects (mean, 0.73+/-0.02, P<0.01), increased further within 15 min after hydration and administration of diuretics (P<0.01), and remained higher than basal values during the following 90 min. In conclusion, different resistive index changes have been observed in response to hydration and diuretics in normal and obstructed kidneys. Duplex Doppler sonography and diuresis duplex Doppler sonography seem promising diagnostic tools to identify obstructing stones.

Squamous cell carcinoma arising at the base of the penis in a burn scar(1).

Squamous cell carcinoma developed after 32 years in a burn scar located on the ventral surface of the penis at the penoscrotal junction. The origin of squamous cell carcinoma in burn scars is a rare and not completely understood phenomenon. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented case of such an event in the penis because of the extreme rarity of genital burns.

Surgical management of isolated bilateral adrenal metastases from colon carcinoma causing adrenal insufficiency.

Adrenal insufficiency due to histologically proven bilateral metastatic adrenal involvement from colon cancer has been clinically reported only twice. Surgical treatment of bilateral adrenal metastases is seldom performed, since other metastatic localizations are usually concomitant. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case of relatively long-term disease-free survival after bilateral adrenalectomy in a patient with adrenal insufficiency due to bilateral metastases from colon carcinoma.

Evaluation of the effects of desmopressin in acute ureteral obstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of desmopressin on pressure values inside the pelvis and ureter of the rat following acute obstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By means of a microsurgical technique, 24 male Wistar rats were submitted to ureteral obstruction; pressure inside the ureter was recorded using a cannula and a micrometric glass column. In the treatment group (14 animals) 6 mg/kg of desmopressin were administered 30 min before the beginning of the experiment. RESULTS: Rats pretreated with desmopressin showed a statistically significant reduction in mean intraureteral pressure following acute obstruction (p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In Wistar rats desmopressin demonstrated a powerful antidiuretic effect, reducing the intraureteral pressure. The experimental model is useful for a better understanding of physiopathology of renal colic and acute obstruction.

Transurethral radiofrequency thermal ablation of prostatic tissue: a feasibility study in humans.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of ablating prostatic tissue by inducing thermal lesions using radiofrequency (RF) energy delivered transurethrally through electrodes mounted on a Foley-like catheter. METHODS: Twenty male patients, candidates for radical cystoprostatectomy to treat bladder carcinoma, underwent RF prostate ablation 1 to 8 days before surgery (mean 2.8). Stainless steel, internally cooled, 2-cm-long electrodes mounted on a Foley-like catheter were used to deliver RF energy to the prostatic tissue. Semicircular electrodes were used in 10 patients (group A) and circular electrodes were used in the remaining 10 patients (group B). The urethral, rectal, and prostatic tissue temperatures were recorded. Histologic step sections were performed on whole mounts of the prostates to define the volume of the thermal lesions. RESULTS: The mean RF energy delivered was 36.5 kJ (range 26.4 to 53.1) in group A and 82.3 kJ (range 38 to 149) in group B. The intraprostatic temperatures were between 44 degrees C and 80 degrees C in group A and between 60 degrees C and 119 degrees C in group B. The urethral and rectal temperatures never exceeded 42 degrees C. No major complications occurred. After the RF procedure, 5 patients who received more than 75 kJ of energy could not void and required catheterization. The mean prostate volume was 11.54 cm(3) for group A and 24.02 cm(3) for group B. The mean volumes of the thermal lesions and their relative percentages in relation to the whole prostate in groups A and B were, respectively, 1.69 cm(3) and 15% and 6.91 cm(3) and 29% (P = 0.049). Analysis of variance showed a significant correlation between the thermal lesion volume and the energy delivered, regardless of the electrode shape (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Satisfactory thermal ablation of prostatic tissue can be achieved using RF electrodes mounted on a Foley-like catheter. The procedure is effective, simple, and safe and, therefore, can be used in pilot clinical studies on patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.